Rwandan Genocide
, Protais Mpiranya, Augustin Bizimana, Fulgence Kayishema, Ladislas Ntaganzwa, Aloys Ndimbati, Pheneas Munyarugarama.]] The Rwandan Genocide was a genocidal mass slaughter that took place in the spring and summer of 1994 in the East African country of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days (from the assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana on April 6th through mid-July) over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate. Estimates of the death toll have ranged from 500,000–1,000,000, or as much as 20% of the country's total population. It was the culmination of longstanding ethnic competition and tensions between the minority Tutsi, who had controlled power for centuries, and the majority Hutu peoples, who had come to power in the rebellion of 1959–62. In 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group composed mostly of Tutsi refugees under command of General Paul Kagame, invaded northern Rwanda from Uganda in an attempt to defeat the Hutu-led government. This sparked a civil war in the country, fought between the Hutu regime of President Habyarimana, with support from Francophone Africa and France, and the RPF, with support from Uganda. This exacerbated ethnic tensions in the country. In response, many Hutus gravitated toward the racist Hutu Power ideology (which asserted that Hutus were superior to Tutsis), with the prompting of state-controlled and independent Rwandan media. As an ideology, Hutu Power asserted that the Tutsi intended to enslave the Hutu and must be resisted at all costs. Continuing ethnic strife resulted in the rebels' displacing large numbers of Hutu in the north, plus periodic localized Hutu killings of Tutsi in the south. International pressure on the Hutu-led government of Juvénal Habyarimana resulted in a cease-fire in 1993. He planned to implement the Arusha Accords, which would establish a coalition government between the ruling MRND party and the RPF. The assassination of Habyarimana in April 1994 set off a violent reaction, during which Hutu groups conducted mass killings of Tutsis, pro-peace Hutus (who were portrayed as "traitors" and "collaborators"), and the Twa, Rwanda's indigenous pygmy peoples who are often described as the genocide's "forgotten victims." The genocide had been planned by members of the Hutu power group known as the Akazu, a hardline sect of the MRND, many of whom occupied positions at top levels of the national government (including President Habyarimana's own wife); the genocide was supported and coordinated by the national government as well as by local military and civil officials and mass media. Alongside the military, primary responsibility for the killings themselves rests with two Hutu extremist militias that had been organized for this purpose by political parties: the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi (with both militias effectively serving as government-sanctioned death squads), although once the genocide was underway a great number of Hutu civilians took part in the murders. These mass killings effectively marked the end of the peace agreement, causing the RPF to restart their offensive. Ultimately, the RPF would emerge victorious and put an end to the genocide with their capture of the capital city of Kigali in July 1994. Rwanda today has two public holidays commemorating the incident, with Genocide Memorial Day on April 7th marking the start, and Liberation Day on July 4th marking the end. The week following April 7th is designated an official week of mourning. One global impact of the Rwandan Genocide is that it served as impetus to the creation of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, so that ad hoc tribunals would not need to be created for future incidents of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the ICC, and was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome on July 17th, 1998. The ICC would begin functioning in July 2002. Perpetrators The perpetrators of the Rwandan Genocide are commonly known as génocidaires. Organizations *Coalition for the Defence of the Republic *Impuzamugambi *Interahamwe *MRND *Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines Individuals *Jean-Paul Akayesu *Théoneste Bagosora *Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza *Valérie Bemeriki *Simon Bikindi *Augustin Bizimana *Augustin Bizimungu *Jean-Baptiste Gatete *Agathe Habyarimana *Idelphonse Hategekimana *Alphonse Higaniro *Noël Hitimana *Felicien Kabuga *Jean Kambanda *Froduald Karamira *Fulgence Kayishema *Maria Kisito *Callixte Mbarushimana *Protais Mpiranya *Pierre Mugabo *Léon Mugesera *Gertrude Mukangango *Désiré Munyaneza *Pheneas Munyarugarama *Wenceslas Munyeshyaka *Ferdinand Nahimana *Grégoire Ndahimana *Samuel Ndashyikirwa *Aloys Ndimbati *Hassan Ngeze *Augustin Ngirabatware *Eliézer Niyitegeka *Idelphonse Nizeyimana *Ladislas Ntaganzwa *Elizaphan Ntakirutimana *Dominique Ntawukulilyayo *Bernard Ntuyahaga *Pauline Nyiramasuhuko *Callixte Nzabonimana *Étienne Nzabonimana *Tharcisse Renzaho *Georges Ruggiu *Emmanuel Rukundo *Georges Rutaganda *Innocent Sagahutu *Laurent Semanza *Athanase Seromba *Theodore Sindikubwabo *Pascal Simbikangwa *Juvenal Uwilingiyimana *Protais Zigiranyirazo Documentary Category:List Category:Villainous Event Category:Murderer Category:Genocidal Category:Modern Villains Category:Destroyer of Innocence Category:Xenophobes Category:Mass Murderers Category:Terrorism Category:War Criminal Category:Mass murder Category:Government support Category:Oppressors Category:Mutilators Category:Misogynists Category:Misopedists Category:Tyrants Category:Animal Cruelty Category:Islamophobes Category:Wrathful Category:Chaotic Evil